Using stakeholder dialogue as a source for new ideas. A dynamic capability underlying sustainable innovation

This paper attempts to gain a deeper understanding of the firm's ability for integrating stakeholder insights into the process of organisational innovation within the context of sustainable development. Given the early stage of empirical research on the topic, we used an exploratory case study method of two Spanish companies that have successfully learned from stakeholder dialogue and have generated innovations that are both beneficial for the company and for sustainable development in general. The evidence from the two case studies suggests the existence of two simple capabilities - stakeholder dialogue and stakeholder knowledge integration - for generating innovations in accordance with stakeholder needs. Whereas stakeholder dialogue leverages organisational resources that promote two-way communication, transparency and appropriate feedback to stakeholders, stakeholder knowledge integration relies on non-hierarchical structures, flexibility and openness to change. The paper sheds some light on the under-researched issue of linking stakeholder dialogue and sustainable innovation, and contributes to opening the 'black box' of dynamic capabilities and advancing in the understanding of this fundamental organisational concept.sustainable development; stakeholders; innovation; capabilities;

The role of fiscal rules and institutions in shaping budgetary outcomes

The Workshop "The role of fiscal rules and institutions in shaping budgetary outcomes" organized by the Directorate-General for Economic and Financial affairs of the European Commission on 24 November 2006 in Brussels aimed at enriching the debate on the fiscal arrangements and improving the understanding of their functioning. This Economic Paper contains all the paper presented in this event that was organised in four sessions. A first set of papers mainly focus on the impact of numerical fiscal rules on budgetary outturns. Other paper deal primarily with the appropriate design of fiscal rules and institutions. An additional group of papers addresses the relationship between the fiscal governance approach adopted by the EU Member States and their institutional and political frameworks. Finally the remaining presentations relate more directly to policy experiences. fiscal rules, budget, institutions.fiscal rules, budget, institutions, Ayuso-i-Casals, Deroose, Flores, Moulin

Alternativas a la enseñanza de la genética en Educación Secundaria

En este artículo se analizan algunas referencias importantes para la enseñanza de la genética en la ESO. Considerando que los estudiantes aprenden a partir de lo que ya saben, se examinan sus concepciones cuando inician sus contactos académicos con la herencia biológica, se aportan criterios para seleccionar y secuenciar los contenidos relacionados con la localización, la transmisión y los cambios de la herencia biológica y se analizan las características que podrían tener las actividades de enseñanza para favorecer el aprendizaje de los estudiantes.In this paper we analyse some important issues related with teaching Genetics in secondary school. Starting from the premise that students' learning is based on prior knowledge, we examine the students' ideas on the location, transmission and changes in biological inheritance, before starting their first academic course on Genetics. Taking into account such knowledge, we establish several criteria for selecting and sequencing the teaching contents and analyse any characteristics that the learning activities might have to improve students' knowledge of Genetics

Introducción a la genética en la enseñanza secundaria y bachillerato : I. Contenidos de enseñanza y conocimientos de los alumnos

In this paper an analysis is made of some of the causes which can hinder the students' learning of genetics at Secondary Leve1 (12-17 years). This research study highlights the need of introducing changes in content at syllabus design level, and shows that students have a slight knowledge of heredity, although the basic tenets are very often wrong, even before they have their first contact with the subject as academic content at school

Introducción a la genética en la enseñanza secundaria y bachillerato : II. ¿Resolución de problemas o realización de ejercicios?

In this paper we analize the level of knowledge students have at different educational levels (15-18 years), about some basic concepts related to genetic inheritance. The strategies developed by students when solving, successfully, genetic problems have also been studied. The results show the difficulties in learning through problem-solving activities. Consequently, very often, their posings (even those of cause-effect approach) allow them to find the right solution by applying the correspondent algorithm. As a conclusion, some suggestions to change the students' position on genetic problems are presented

The effect of infrastructures on total factor productivity and its determinants: a study on Mexico

Se analiza el impacto de las infraestructuras sobre la productividad to- tal de los factores, PTF, y sus componentes: cambio técnico y cambio en eficiencia, en las entidades federativas en México. La metodología para obtener la PTF y sus componentes se basa en técnicas de fronteras no paramétricas Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). En el análisis de la influencia de las infraestructuras sobre los componentes de la PTF se utilizan técnicas econométricas de datos de panel. Los resultados muestran la relevancia del cambio en la eficiencia, mientras que las infraestructuras afectan de manera positiva sólo a la PTF y al compo- nente que hace referencia al cambio técnico.The objective of this research is to identify the effect which infras- tructures have on Total Factor Productivity, TFP, and on its compo- nents: technical change and efficiency change, of the Mexican states. The methodologies employed are Data Envelopment Analysis to obtain TFP and their components, and panel data econometrics, particularly through the estimation of a model of fixed effects, to determine the effect of the infrastructures. The results show in the first place that technical efficiency is of greater importance to the composition of TFP. Likewise, the existence of a favorable effect of the infrastructures on TFP and its factors is verified

Development of web-based image annotation tool and application of machine learning methods

Thesis (M. Eng.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, 2011.Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.Includes bibliographical references (p. 91-92).Large-scale in situ hybridization screens are providing an abundance of spatio-temporal patterns of gene expression data that is valuable for understanding the mechanisms of gene regulation. Drosophila gene expression pattern images have been generated by the Berkeley Drosophila Genome Project (BDGP) for over 7,000 genes in over 90,000 digital images. These images are currently hand curated by field experts with developmental and anatomical terms based on the stained regions. These annotations enable the integration of spatial expression patterns with other genomic data sets that link regulators with their downstream targets. However, the manual curation has become a bottleneck in the process of analyzing the rapidly generated data therefore it is necessary to explore computational methods for the curation of gene expression pattern images. This thesis addresses improving the manual annotation process with a web-based image annotation tool and also enabling automation of the process using machine learning methods. First, a tool called LabelLife was developed to provide a systematic and flexible way of annotating images, groups of images, and shapes within images using terms from a controlled vocabulary. Second, machine learning methods for automatically predicting vocabulary terms for a given image based on image feature data were explored and implemented. The results of the applied machine learning methods are promising in terms of predictive ability, which has the potential to simplify and expedite the curation process hence increasing the rate that biologically significant data can be evaluated and new insights can be gained.by Anna Maria E. Ayuso.M.Eng

Characterizing of steel used in the construction of civil works in Almería

Se realizaron varios ensayos sobre las barras de acero utilizadas en la construcción de obra civil en Almería, durante el período comprendido entre 18/1/2000 y 7/05/2001, con el fin de caracterizar, mecánicamente, los diferentes tipos de aceros (soldables: B400S, B500S y soldable dúctil: B400SD) y, de esta fonua, determinar si existe alguna razón técnica para un incremento del consumo del acero soldable dúctil. Para ello, se ensayaron a tracción todas las muestras que llegaron al laboratorio, siguiendo las normas UNE 7474-1: 1992 y UNE 7474-2:1992. Los resultados indican que el acero B400SD cumple, sólo, en un 86 % los límites especificados en la norma UNE 36065:1999 -EX, frente al 95 y 94 % de los aceros B400S y B500S. Además, el acero soldable dúctil muestra unos valores medios inferiores al B400S. Este hecho discrepa de lo que se podría esperar según la norma que lo regulaVarious tests have be en conducted on the steel bars used in the construction of civil works in Almería (Spain) during the period 18 ]anuary 2000-7 May 2001, with the aim of mechanically characterizing the different types of steel (weldable: B400S, B500S and ductile weldable: B400SD) to determine whether there is a technical reason for the increase in the use of ductile weldable steel. For this, we have used a hydraulic machine to break by traction all the test samples that arrived to the laboratory, following the specifications of the UNE 7474-1:1992 and the UNE 7474-2:1992. The results indicate that only in 86 % of the cases does the steel B400SD satisfy the limits specified by the UNE 36065:1999-EX, as opposed to 95 and 94 % of the B400S and B500S steels. In addition, the ductile weldable steel registered mean values lower than those of B400S. This finding disagrees with expectations set by the specifications